Sayyaf kidnaps 3 more men
JOLO, Sulu (AFP) --
Muslim gunmen holding more than a dozen hostages on this southern Philippine island have
abducted three local construction workers, police said Wednesday.
Police said members of the
Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf snatched at gunpoint Samuel Ranillano, 40, Renante de la
Cruz, 20 and a man identified only as Iking, 51, while the three were hauling sand from
the coastal village of Kaunayan in Patikul town on Tuesday.
The three are employed by a
construction supply shop in Jolo which has concessions to quarry an area in Kaunayan, the
same area where a splinter Abu Sayyaf group earlier snatched two Filipino broadcast
journalists.
The shop owners went to the
area hours after the abduction and attempted to secure the workers release by offering
rebels a truck.
The gunmen rejected the offer
and a brief firefight ensued leaving a laborer wounded, police said.
Police said the gunmen who
carried out the fresh abductions are new recruits.
The Abu Sayyaf is also holding
at gunpoint two Finns, five French nationals, two Germans, three Malaysians, two
Filipinos, two South Africans and a Franco-Lebanese woman.
The rebels had earlier freed
six Malaysians, two Germans and five Filipinos, including the two broadcast journalists.
Emissaries
JOLO, Sulu (DPA) - Philippine
negotiators yesterday dispatched emissaries to pursue efforts to free 17 mostly foreign
hostages held by Islamic extremists in a southern island for more than three months.
Sources close to the
negotiators said three remaining Malaysian hostages were likely to be released ahead of
the other captives of the Abu Sayyaf extremists in Jolo island, Sulu province, 1,000
kilometers south of Manila.
"The Malaysians may be
freed as early as Thursday," a source said.
"While there were initial
indications that some Western hostages would also be released within the week, we are not
expecting this to push through."
The source said a special
emissary of chief government negotiator Roberto Aventajado, identified only as
"Dragon," was at the rebels' hideout to discuss more releases.
On Tuesday, Aventajado said it
was "possible" that all hostages would be freed "within two weeks"
after Abu Sayyaf commander Galib Andang, known as Robot, agreed to discuss the
"wholesale" release of the captives.
Aside from the three
Malaysians, the remaining hostages comprise five French nationals, two Germans, two Finns,
two South Africans, a Franco-Lebanese, and two Filipinos.
Back to Sipadan Hostages News
Back
to This Week's Borneo News |
